


Breathe In(Breathe Out)

by HybridTrash13



Series: Breathe [1]
Category: Boku no Hero Academia
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism/Aspergers Syndrome, Being a Hero is not Easy, Class 1-A + Extra, Determination, Dietary Issues, Dimensional Displacement, Empathy, Existential Issues, Fidget spinner - Freeform, Gen, Headcanon, Improvisation, Impulsive Decisions, Introspection, It's Just Outside Context Problem, It's not a Quirk, Language Barrier, Learning Styles, Life is not a Game, Magic, Misgendering, Motivational Speeches, Murphy's Law, Outside Context Problem, Politics, Quirkless Protagonist, Self Insert, Sensory Overload, Superfluous References, TV Tropes references, Technically this is in on Recommendation, Technology is Cool, Technopathy, This is Not How You Make Friends, This is not how you get into a School, Trauma for All, Unreliable Narrator, Welcome to Attention Deficit New Project, author has no regrets, autistic protagonist, coping methods, culture clash, feelings are hard, future knowledge, heroics, mental issues, reality ensues, science is magic, self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 08:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14209659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybridTrash13/pseuds/HybridTrash13
Summary: They open their eyes and the whole world changes, they have no application, no skills, and definitely no quirk! Yet still they are here, in an "abandoned" city with robots attacking everywhere they look. So they act, and that's where all their problems begin, because by all rights, this is not where they should exist...





	Breathe In(Breathe Out)

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia at all, and that should be obvious.
> 
>  **Notes:** Yes, I know, I should be working on one of my other projects, but seriously. I am one of those people who has too many ideas and just kind of leaps straight into them, and this series sort of demands that I make a fanfiction for it. So here we go.
> 
> Also, obviously it’s going to be self-indulgent as anything because Self-Insert, another one. Except welcome to my idea of a Quirkless human from our world dealing with the whole series. Also, Out of Context issues will abound, since the character is from out of context in the context of BNHA! So here you guys go, I bring you...

Hazel eyes open to dust raining down around them, debris, rubble and crumbling stone, and they can only blink. The picture doesn't change, and yet they are standing there in their pyjamas. Pink, somewhat threadbare, and they have no shoes on, merely socks, and an oddly turned cap with an equine education symbol on it. They stand out.

But so do the robots.

They don't think, there is no time to think. Only move as the robots zoom around them. They're alone as far as they can tell, and the robots seem hostile. And are numbered... 1, 2, and 3.

They are in nothing more than their pjs though, alone, and weaponless. But do they hesitate, stop to think about the situation? No, not at all. They only move, quickly turning their white socks brown and dusty as they scramble to cover. Ducking down and grabbing whatever is closest. Broken wooden frames, rubble and pieces of stone. Improvisation is the name of the game. And they scramble from covering to covering, flinging whatever they can at the robots. For the most part they're not doing much, if anything.

But they don't stop to worry about that. Grabbing a bit of the rubble near them and jumping. Partly it's adrenalin they think as they leap up and slam the rubble down right onto the connector, or the neck of robot, severing it. They blink as it collapses, before grabbing the severed headpiece and slinging it right towards the others, knocking them all over and causing a chain reaction.

Although it's not over.

Not even close, As there are some that escaped the chain reaction. So they growled, and dodged again as they zoom towards them. Only to stumble, the robots freezing for a moment as the ground rumbles and a few of the buildings around them crumble. In the distance something emerges.

A giant robot.

As big as one of the tallest buildings around them.

Giant, giant robot. Around them they can hear running. Although they see no one else. Still, that done damage. They don't think, they search. Unable to see anyone who really needs help, at least not instantly. And then they pull up short, seeing someone trapped, pinned by a piece of rubble. They move, running forwards down the street, against the river of the crowd. Reaching the pinned person, a brown haired girl they pause for a moment. This feels familiar. And they find themself looking up, just in time.

There's a boy in green in the air. Leaping high above them. Pulling back his fist and... They shove a piece of wood under the rubble and lever it up off the girl, just as the boy's fist slams into the giant robot. Destroying it in one punch. And now they sit themself down and watch. Watch a familiar scene, but it's a different perspective.

Less cartoon and more... real.

Real to the point that they can only blink. How did they get here? Why are they here? And... they stare at their hands, not listening as someone screams over the loudspeakers in Japanese, they know the words in English. They know the scenes... this is...

The Yūei entrance exam! This is, not where they are supposed to be. Not in the least, and yet they managed to deal with it, just being dropped in. But they are already turning over things in their head, they just destroyed the robots that attacked them, about... seven? Maybe eight robots all together, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because...

They don't have an application.

They are an outsider, and they don't belong. Only they raise their head up when they hear a more awkward kind of approach, someone with a walking staff, Recovery Girl.

She still looks like a Granny...

Instantly they can feel a bit of sweat rolling down the back of their head at that thought, and an awkward smile cross their face, before they swallow. Their throat suddenly dry as she looks in their direction. It is as if she can look and see right through them. They are not supposed to be here, they do not belong, they are not from this place. A stranger in a strange land. It feels as though she can just tell, but they cannot know if she does or doesn't? Was she one of the judges?

Also...

How are they supposed to cover the written part of this exam?

Their head tilts just slightly to the right at the thought as she turns back to the green haired boy, and speaks in Japanese towards him. Leaving them in even more confusion. Because while they technically know the lines...

The script is changing.

It will always be changing.

* * *

They run, run, run, run, until they collapse once they are let out. They find an alley somewhere, they don't know where, they weren't even really aware that Japan had alleys that they could get lost in. Not really, but it makes sense they suppose. Alleys, and homeless... just like everywhere else.

And what are they?

Homeless, lost, more the latter than the former. So they close their eyes, leaning their head back against the brick and concrete of the building at their back. Deep breaths, breathe in, out. They curl their legs up close to themself and coil their arms around. They don't know if home is even there. Another breath, another sigh, and they just feel the wind in their hair, against their face, before opening up their eyes again.

To their left are the streets. To the right, a wall, a trash can.

And they only have their pjs... and... they pat the pocket on their breast, before pausing. Pulling out the phone that is there and staring at it with a somewhat blank expression. It never works. It's useless,  _worse than useless_ , and yet...

They flip open the teal coloured case, Note their myki public transport card and press the button on the bottom of their phone bringing up the screen. It's at 99% and the screensaver is painfully familiar. A character of their own, all smug and glowing, a ball of energy of their left hand and a smirk on their face. Swiping right it changes.

A different scene.

A different story. A team. A  _family_. Red, silver, brown and black. And all the apps, familiar as familiar. All sorted. But they don't worry about those, with trembling hands they tap the messages button at the bottom and find their Mother's number. There is a painful pause as they debate hitting the call button.

Eventually they look up again, eyes darting towards the street.

They find themself chewing their bottom lip slightly, before sighing, and... they lower their phone, before tapping the call button. Now it's just a matter of waiting and seeing if it will even call out or what... It's dialling, dialling, dialling... forever. Until it dials out. Again. The same result, and they can feel tears brimming at the edge of their eyes, as they tap it for the third and final time.

Nothing.

They sniff, wiping one hand across their face before shoving their phone back into their pocket. They do not have the time to waste on trying again and again when it isn't going to work. How much money do they have on their myki? They don't know. They haven't added anything to it recently, and their bus trips were always the same, to Workways and back home, it isn't like they really needed to check, it was enough for that...

Probably only about eight or nine dollars.

So they're broke.

Still, they do have something on their phone that they can use, the internet. First thing that they get when they fish it back out and navigate to chrome is a tumblr error page. What they are looking for doesn't exist... Their mind blanks... And a deep sharp, pang shoots through them, fumbling slightly they tap in a familiar address.  _Their own_  tumblr address.  _The Page you are looking for doesn't exist_.

_Doesn't. Exist._

No, no, no, no. Their mind screams at them, sending wave after wave of alarm through them, and their whole body begins to tremble. A keening sound breaking from their throat as they type familiar blogs into the address bar. Each and everytime it was the same result.  _Doesn't. Exist._ They don't exist. They don't exist.

They drop their arm down.

They stare, feeling tears finally slide down, rolling down and dropping to the ground. Before they tap in the last thing they wanted, closing the useless,  _gone, gone non-existent,_ pages.

Their home doesn't exist.

At least, not the way that they remember it. Changed and altered, but it is not their home. Again, a finally time they swap over to their mother's number. Stare at it, and then hit call. Raising it up to their ear this time they listen to the dialling. They listen as it rings out, and eventually cuts off.

" _...The number you have called does not exist..."_

They don't exist...

But they do...

"No..." they whisper, barely a breath that leaves their mouth. As yet more tears spring to their eyes and they are forced to wipe them away again. "No... I exist... but..." they raise their head again, before curling up even tighter and shaking their head. "The world around me has changed... I am not where I am supposed to be..."

They are not...

Everything is wrong.

* * *

They wake up with a dull throb behind their eyes, and a chink in their neck. And... on a soft bed. White... Antiseptic in their nose, and their pyjamas have been traded for lighter, more flimsy material. They blink for a moment, staring up at a plain roof before awkwardly sitting up and clenching their fingers in the thin, somewhat stiff material of the hospital bedsheet. The blankets that the hospitals use.

It's familiar, but still wrong. And they look around, brain not quite understanding what is going on, how did they...

They look to the door as it swings open. And... there is nobody there. For a moment they stare blankly, brain struggling to comprehend the door just swinging open on its own before they hear a small sound and they lean over just slightly to see, there's... well they're not quite sure what they are looking at, some kind of animal they think. It could be a mouse, a dog, or perhaps some kind of small bear. But they can't tell.

So they just make a small confused sound.

Before they rapidly shake their head and offer an awkwardly forced smile onto their face.

"Oh! Hello there, I..." they pause, letting out a breath. "I'm sorry, I am..." they stop, gaze drifting towards the window, looking outside for a moment. "I am... not from here, and I don't know how I got here..." There is so much for them to say, so much that they could say, but... They can't. "I'm sorry..." The words die before they even reach their tongue. Swallowed and drowning in their head, in their heart.

Fake, fake, fake,  _the page you are looking for doesn't exist... the number you have called doesn't exist..._

They are a fake. An outsider, a  _glitch_.

"Hmm..." it's a sound, a hum, a consideration. But they keep their head lowered. Not looking up, not looking at the creature, not looking anywhere but at their hands. At the sheets, and what could they...

There's a sheet of paper there.

"Uh..." there's a period of silence, before they accept the paper awkwardly. Staring at the characters at it blankly, before awkwardly shifting and looking at the creature. "Do you have this in English? I don't exactly speak Japanese..." they awkwardly laugh and the creature merely gives them an odd smile.

Why do they feel as though they walked into a trap? Abort, abort, this is a trap! But the paper has already been taken from them, replaced with a duplicate in English. It's... an application form. And, also a paper test. Basic knowledge for the most part, mathematics, science, and a few things that they know they're going to fail such as history.

Still they fill out the application papers first before narrowing their eyes and working on the test. Humming just slightly as they get into it, before handing it back at the end. There's another hum from the odd not sure what animal they are, before he smiles again. And they can feel their throat go dry, and a smile slide over their face.

It feels awkward and forced, wrong but...

Life has a way of working out.

And if this is going to go how they assume it is... well they are probably going to end up as a student at Yūei...

Whether they want to or not.

Although considering the state of things... They stop for a moment, taking a deep breath and raising their head up and looking at the one who they know is the Principal of the school, it's with an awkward tilt of their head that they give a firm nod.

"This is... a chance to turn my life around isn't it..." they say, one hand curling up into a first as he gives a small smile. "I know... intellectually how I must appear, homeless and lost... so this is a chance..." a chance to make something of themself in this world. A chance to turn around and become something. Do something.

Except.

"I must warn you... I am... not exactly traditional." and they don't just mean the fact that they're from another dimension, or whatever this is. They mean. "I'm quirkless!" And an outside context problem, whatever they bring with them, it's not from this world, so that term might only end up being technically. "But also... I don't think... I have any records do I?"

"No, but I do believe that everyone deserves a chance to turn their lives around! Especially if they really want to try, do you not?"

"Yeah..." they say softly, no longer looking at the Principal. "But that's a bit much to assume that people want to try... complacency is such a simple path to take after all..."

"Maybe so..." they raise their head, again, eyes darting to the door where the Principal is standing his back to them. "But you somehow managed to get into the Testing Zone without a quirk, without an ID, and without being detected by anyone in the preliminary checks..." they frown, expression trembling slightly at his words as his head turns just slightly to them, and there is something in his eyes. "I believe that determination like that should get you a chance at the very least... wouldn't you agree?"

"It's Yūai or the streets for me..." they say, letting out a sigh. "I don't think this counts as an application... considering I just... got involved..." this is more... getting in on recommendation. And as for their presence in the testing zone, how must have that looked? They arrived in their pyjamas, with nothing else but their phone, filled with useless numbers that call nowhere... Except maybe the kid's helpline. Because that's not too likely to be too different here, at least, they hope it isn't.

"Hmm..." and he's gone.

Wait...

What?

Did they just?

There is a moment where their head snaps up and they stare in the direction he disappeared in, eyes wide with a dawning horror at the realization of what they just signed themself up for... until their brain calms itself down and they let out a sigh. They should be fine, just one of the other sections... since they admitted that they were quirkless, and they were just kind of stumbling into the situation. So they can't be a hero.

Heroine... Hero?

They frown, not sure which is more Neutral, probably Hero. Because Wonder Woman's a hero, so there.

Still... At best they will be shoved into the Support Department right! So nothing for them to really worry about, after all, it's not like they would take some random homeless,  _quirkless_ teenager from the streets and shove them into the Heroes Department, right? They turn over in the hospital bed towards the window again, suddenly that much more nervous.

They'll only be support... right?


End file.
